Now that the winter weather is finally upon us, finding indoor options to help our kids burn off some energy and have fun is high on our weekend priorities. The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD is a great venue to do just that!
Covered Here:
What to Expect
Open Skate
Pro Shop
Learn to Skate
Prices & Admission
Hours & When to Go
Food & Drink
Good to Know Before You Go
Getting There
Things to Do Near The Gardens Ice House
What to Expect
With two rinks, a pro shop, a birthday party room and cafe, this ice skating venue in Prince George’s County has it all.
Once out on the ice we enjoyed the music and a few breaks in the “penalty box”. There are benches to sit on just outside of the rink for a break or you can head to the warmer lobby (with flat screen TV) or head directly from the rink to Ice Breakers Cafe.
This heated eatery sells snacks, drinks, pizza and sandwiches.
The Gardens Ice House is located in a large sports complex with the Fairland Aquatics and Recreation Center just next door. On a nicer day you could certainly combine a skating session with a picnic and play at the park after without needing to get back in your car.
Open Skate
We arrived after the start of the public skate session on a Sunday afternoon to a full but not crowded rink and no line to get in. Kids three and up and seniors get $1.00 off of the above mentioned rates.
The Gardens Ice House you can bring your own skates or pay $4.15 for skate rentals which are available in full sizes only. The smallest skates available are a toddler size 6.
Public skating sessions can only be booked online, no walk-ins are allowed.
The Gardens also hosts many clinics, lessons, figure skating and hockey clubs and even a curling league.
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Pro Shop
If you want to buy your own gears and supplies, East Coast Hockey & Skating Supply have a shop inside the venue.
They have a complete line of products, from skates to helmets and everything in between that you will need to level up your game!
Learn to Skate
They offer US Figure Skating and Learn to Skate, 7 week series USA programs that consists of a comprehensive lesson/test structure for students ages 3 and above.
Click here to check the prices and schedule.
Prices & Admission
Public skate prices are $7.70 per person.
Skate Rental is $4.15.
Registration is required.*
Hours & When to Go
Monday to Sunday: 6:00 am to 11:00 pm
Pre-register for public skating sessions to know the exact hours they are open for the public.
Food & Drink
They have a cafe called Ice Breakers Cafe where you can buy assorted snacks and drinks.
We enjoyed a quick hot chocolate and then headed back onto the ice.
There are several arcade games located in the cafe area though none were turned on on the day of our visit. Another flat screen TV is also located in here.
Good to Know Before You Go
- Note that the Ice Breakers Cafe is not open during the Monday through Friday 11:20 to 1:10pm public skate session.
- There are several vending machines selling snacks and drinks available at all times.
- Don’t forget to bring gloves and warm pants for everyone and helmets for beginner skaters.
- If you are renting skates you may also want to bring a few different pairs of socks in different widths to find the best fit since skates come in whole sizes only
- Bring cash for smaller purchases, the credit card minimum is $5
- No walk-ins, pre-registration is required
Getting There
The Gardens Ice House is located at 13800 Old Gunpowder Rd., Laurel, MD 20707.
Their phone number is: 301-953-0100.
Things to Do Near The Gardens Ice House
- Visit M-NCPPC Dinosaur Park, an archaeological site for dinosaur fossils
- Take in some history at The Underground Railroad Experience Trail
- Take a break from the outdoors at Urban Air Adventure Park
- Visit Fairland Regional Park to walk the long trails or play at the playground
- Climb the walls at ClimbZone Laurel
- Visit the National Wildlife Visitor Center for a free half-hour tram tour of the nature refuge where a ranger will guide you through forest, meadows, and wetlands.
After two hours of skating, my kids were tired, happy and ready to go home. We waited around to watch the zamboni clean the ice and peeked in quickly to see an amateur hockey game before heading out.
Get out on the ice and enjoy winter any time of year at The Gardens Ice House!
